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Friday, April 30, 2021

The Sound of Quiet~

First, I have to tell you that I love that I get to share this with you.
In one of my last post, there were 3 short words that seem to have resonated
in our home recently.
"Quiet the Noise."
I should first admit that I am probably a bit hypersensitive.
I have good ears, a good sniffer, good eyes though do have 
wear readers now which I'm not thrilled about.
At our house up the mountain, 
I could tell when the well pump kicked on just by the "sound"
and could feel the pressure in the house.
Yea, I know it sounds odd.
Guess I'm just odd, what can I say.
(The Rosemary is blooming.)

Anyhoo. . . 
I seem to be on a continual mission to nix the noise,
visual, audio, all of it.
We recently had the son of some friends come and stay with us
for a couple nights.
He is 28 and claimed that he was a night-owl
preferring to go to bed late.
(We had warned him that we were early-risers).
After the first night,
I asked if he slept alright.
He said, "Yea, really good actually."
He had evidently gone up about 20 minutes after I had
when Hubby went to take a shower.
He slept about 10 hours each night!

It was really pretty funny.
He was shadowing Hubby at work to get a sense of what we do.
He's wanting to go into the field and had questions.
He got to smith a steak turner and was thrilled.
It's busy and loud at work (metal-fabrication).
Then when we go home,
it's quiet, no TV, not a lot of "stuff" clanking or beeping about.
It was fun to see him unwind
and probably odd for him to feel.
What it told me though, is I'm on the right track.
We don't realize how screens and background noise and even odors
effect and stress us.
We need the silence sometimes.
For us, it was more sound in our home than usual.
It was another body, another shower, drink of water and
the sounds one makes simply by being
and of course we chatted :-)

I've been telling Hubby for ages that if he wakes in the middle of the night
which he does often, not to read on his phone.
He finally said the other morning as we were drinking coffee,
"I think the screen does something in the brain to keep us awake."
He has the blue-light blocker, but could still tell the difference.
He said he read in the hunting synopsis
and then was able to go back to sleep.
(Can you see me slapping my forehead?)
Actually, I am grateful he figured it out.
I am very aware of how certain things affect me,
but trying to explain to others who can't relate
because they've never felt the peace that happens
when it's quiet can be perplexing.
We obviously have screens, but we try to keep it reasonable.
 It was wonderful to see that it's not just us "old-folks."
And it makes me think how much better off children
could be if certain things were put in check.
I will say, it feels as good to get rid of audial clutter
as it does to get rid of visual clutter.
I'm not finished with either of course~
that would be too good :-)
But I keep plugging away.
Every bit of clutter sent on its way or noise quieted
allows for a little deeper breath and peace of mind.
The other thing that becomes noticeable is what remains.
The sounds of a bird chattering or the wind chime hanging by the back stoop.
Gentle sounds remain and sing to ones soul.
For me, it was an accident.
I started by wanting to lower our power bill 
so went through each room and unplugged everything.
As an item was needed, I would plug it in.
I was surprised at how few things got plugged back in
and how much quieter the house felt.
The little charging lights or vibrations create a sort of "noise".
Again, it's an ongoing process.
We seem to go through phases,
but I know now to look for things to unplug. 
If you're feeling overly stressed,
maybe begin by unplugging and listening for the quiet.
The quiet we hear penetrates and brings quiet to us inside.
I wish for each of you that peace.



 

9 comments:

  1. Even visual clutter causes stress. My wife has become a bit of a packrat in her old age, but frets because all the stuff makes it impossible to maintain the house as neatly as she once did.

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  2. I used to be a person who had to have music on pretty much all the time. Moving into the apartment meant that the cement block walls wouldn't allow the radio to work very well so now I've grown used to mainly silence. I used to have the radio on in the car as well but now I never bother with it. I think silence pertains to 'stuff' around you too and I'm slowly working on that issue too.

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  3. I can so relate to this. Not having television and heating with wood make our home much quieter than most. I'm very aware of the various things kicking on and off. The a/c seems so loud to us, but I wouldn't want to back to the years without it. This Southern heat and humidity saps all your energy otherwise. Peace and quiet is a lovely thing.

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  4. I have tinnitus so I run fans all of the time, otherwise I get very stressed. But I think maybe I wouldn't have developed it if I had been in a quiet environment all these years, and have had medical attention as a child. I do love the quiet of a rural area. I think most people today would be so much healthier if they could live in tune with nature.

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  5. Very good posting, I do like quiet, but not perfectly quiet with no sound, as my ears ring. I like to have "white" noise. Our homes do have their own noises don't they, it's so natural we don't think about it, but it's noise after all.I love the sound of wind chimes, and the birds singing.

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  6. Sounds wonderful to me. I'm like Faith, my ears ring, so actual quiet is quite loud to me. I don't like a lot of cluttery sounds. ~smile~
    Blessings from Harvest Lane Cottage,
    Laura

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  7. You would hate our refrigerator. It is noisiest thing ever. I swear it is trying to communicate. It doesn't make the same noises twice either.

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  8. Wonderful post. I am blessed to live where it is very peaceful and quiet. I love the sounds of the birds and the scents of the fragrant lilacs in bloom. I agree with you about screen time.

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  9. Excellent post. I think most people get so used to background noise that if they don't have it, something seems wrong.

    I have noticed that when I'm outside with an overly busy mind, if I will just focus on listening to the natural sounds around me, it changes my mental outlook for the better.

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